Govt urged to maintain Alpine National Park cattle grazing ban
Govt urged to maintain Alpine National Park cattle grazing ban
1 July 2008
published by www.abc.net.au
Australia — The Victorian National Parks Association (VNPA) is urging the State Government not to reintroduce cattle grazing in the Alpine National Park.
A parliamentary committee has released a report calling for the State Government to dramatically increase fuel reduction burning across the state.
The Mountain Cattlemen’s Association is arguing that grazing reduces fine fuels and would help prevent bushfires.
But Phil Ingamels from the VNPA says there is evidence that in some ecosystems it can increase the flammable fuel load.
“It really highlights how you have to look very carefully, every ecosystem behaves differently to impacts, to different impacts to weather, to grazing, to fire regimes and to the intensity of the fire or to the frequency of the fire and … it’s a bit like the doctor prescribing one pill for every illness, it’s just a nonsense,” he said.
